What is the ‘rule of law'? How do laws get made? Does our legal and political system achieve justice for all Australians equally? Designed for beginners as well as non-law students, this textbook provides a comprehensive and accessible guide to understanding Australia's system of law and government. Law in Australian Society explains legislation and case law, courts, and the doctrine of precedent. Keiran Hardy examines the roles played by parliaments, politics, and the media. He explains founding principles, including democracy, liberalism, the separation of powers, and federalism. Human rights and justice are highlighted, with an emphasis on First Nations Peoples and the law. The book explains criminal responsibility and the justice system, including police powers and the criminal trial. It concludes with case studies of cybercrime and counterterrorism laws to illustrate law reform in action. This second edition has been fully updated throughout, including recent legislation, cases, and topical issues from Australian law and politics, including from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Each chapter features practical examples, chapter summaries and review questions together with a glossary of key terms. Concise, accessible and up-to-the-minute, this is a vital guide for anyone seeking to understand Australian law and government.

Provides a detailed and comprehensive, yet concise and accessible discussion of intellectual property law in Australia.

The second edition of this text incorporates the latest changes to Australian corporations law, up to and including the Corporations Act 2001 and the Financial Services Reform Act 2001. Like the 1st edition, this text is written particularly for undergraduate law students. The book introduces students to Australian corporate law in a way that is informed by theory and policy. Throughout the book the authors draw upon materials from fields such as economics, sociology and politics to provide a contextually relevant account of modern corporate law. Ample references and pointers are provided to policy debates, contemporary issues, and to further reading. The authors bring considerable experience in interdisciplinary corporate law teaching and research. The authors aim to stimulate the reader into further critical analysis of corporate law issues, and to equip them with the capacity to respond in an informed way to future changes and developments. The book also encourages the reader to independently pursue further research in areas of corporate law. Each of the 25 chapters has been revised and updated. The book deals with: Introduction - the history of corporate law, and key themes and perspectives. Corporate Structures and Regulation - including the structure of Australian corporate law; ASIC's role and powers; and the role of auditors. Corporate Obligations - including corporate capacity; contractual and criminal liability. Corporate Governance - membership and meetings; directors' duties; shareholders' rights. Corporate Finance - including share and debt capital, the Managed Investments Act 1998, and fundraising. Securities and Takeovers Corporate Rescues and Winding Up

Updated to include recent important developments in Australian intellectual property law, this is an essential text for students and professionals.

For reasons of effectiveness, efficiency and equity, Australian law reform should be planned carefully. Academics can and should take the lead in this process. This book collects over 50 discrete law reform recommendations, encapsulated in short, digestible essays written by leading Australian scholars. It emerges from a major conference held at The Australian National University in 2016, which featured intensive discussion among participants from government, practice and the academy. The book is intended to serve as a national focal point for Australian legal innovation. It is divided into six main parts: commercial and corporate law, criminal law and evidence, environmental law, private law, public law, and legal practice and legal education. In addition, Indigenous perspectives on law reform are embedded throughout each part. This collective work—the first of its kind—will be of value to policy makers, media, law reform agencies, academics, practitioners and the judiciary. It provides a bird’s eye view of the current state and the future of law reform in Australia.

First Published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A nation's prosperity depends not only on the willingness of its businesses to export goods and services, and of its citizens and residents to travel to take advantage of opportunities overseas, but also on the willingness of the businesses and citizens of other nations to cross the nation's borders to do business. Economic expansion, and parallel increases in tourism and immigration, have brought Australians more frequently into contact with the laws and legal systems of other nations. In particular, in recent years, trade with partners in the Asia-Pacific Region has become increasingly important to the nation's future. At the same time, Australian courts are faced with a growing number of disputes involving foreign facts and parties. In recognition of these developments, and the need to ensure that the applicable rules meet the needs both of transacting parties and society, the Attorney-General's Department launched in 2012 a full review of Australian rules of private international law. This collection examines the state and future of Australian private international law against the background of the Attorney-General's review. The contributors approach the topic from a variety of perspectives (judge, policy maker, practitioner, academic) and with practical and theoretical insights as to operation of private international law rules in Australia and other legal systems. This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional's International Arbitration online service.